About Clearwater Lake Rec Area
Number of accommodations: 38
Seasonal information
2026 Season availability
Open year round
This campground is open year round, providing flexibility for your stay.
Campground Amenities
Most popular amenities
Showers
RV Utilities and Hookups
- Dump station on site
Water and Hygiene
- Potable Water
- Showers
Water Access
- Beach Access
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Rates, Sites & Availability
38 Sites Available
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Site Details
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38 Sites Available
No available sites
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Reviews (433)
What Guests Are Saying
Clearwater Lake Rec Area offers a beautiful and clean campground with spacious and well-maintained sites, friendly hosts, and excellent restroom facilities with hot showers. Visitors appreciate the peaceful atmosphere, access to the Florida Trail, and fun activities such as kayaking and nature walks. However, some guests noted a tick problem and expressed concern about pricing and booking policies, suggesting that improvements could enhance the overall experience.
What Guests Are Saying
Clearwater Lake Rec Area offers a beautiful and clean campground with spacious and well-maintained sites, friendly hosts, and excellent restroom facilities with hot showers. Visitors appreciate the peaceful atmosphere, access to the Florida Trail, and fun activities such as kayaking and nature walks. However, some guests noted a tick problem and expressed concern about pricing and booking policies, suggesting that improvements could enhance the overall experience.
Review Summary
Deborah K
VerifiedMarch 31, 2022 • Stayed at: 6, Loop: A
Lovely campground and the hosts are wonderful people! Also loved the local community library nearby, the librarian is awesome!
Martha S
VerifiedMarch 30, 2022 • Stayed at: 27, Loop: B
Campground was fine with two exceptions - generator policy allowed our neighbor to run his generator from 8AM to 10PM continuously. Said he needed it for TV and A/C (even though the highs were in the 70's). How rude! The other issue was ticks! Never seen so many. We stayed 4 nights and pulled of a half-dozen ticks off each of us! Tiny ones!
Gary L
VerifiedMarch 30, 2022 • Stayed at: 1, Loop: A
Very clean restrooms the volunteers really made my experience great
chris r
VerifiedMarch 28, 2022 • Stayed at: 5, Loop: A
The campground is beautiful and close to trails . Great Florida weekends end here
Eunice H
VerifiedMarch 25, 2022 • Stayed at: 40, Loop: B
Nice campsites with lots of shade and bear boxes, public facilities were kept very clean. The dishwashing room is great.
The Florida Trail and Paisley Bike Trail trailhead is .25-.5 miles from campsites, so you can hike north or south or ride north. Trails are in great condition.
Michael B
VerifiedMarch 24, 2022 • Stayed at: 19, Loop: A
Clean campsites, well-spaced, bathrooms are good.
Francisco R
VerifiedMarch 22, 2022 • Stayed at: 32, Loop: B
The facilities and staff are top notch. The bathroom was clean all the time and having an area to clean dishes is great. Even when the campground was packed the noise level was minimum and everyone was acting in a civilized manner in their respective campsites. The staff was visible and always helpful. At night time the staff did security rounds and the main gate was closed at night time to avoid intruders to be in the facilities during sleeping hours. Even when the prices to use the facilities increased it is worth each penny since it provided quality camping experience.
Megan H
VerifiedMarch 21, 2022 • Stayed at: 5, Loop: A
Clearwater Lake was a great campsite! We went as a family over a 4 day weekend. We had campsite 6 in Loop A/1. It was surprisingly spacious.
The camp hosts were kind and helpful. They brought the firewood we bought to our campsite for us. They also checked in before and after a big storm rolled through.
The bathroom facilities always had toilet paper and were clean. The showers were extra hot and nice to use.
A bonus we didn't expect: a dishwashing station! Between the bathrooms was a small room with a sink where you could use hot water and wash your dishes.
The beach area is smaller than we anticipated, and dogs are not allowed on the beach. We didn't spend time there because it was too cold, but we also didn't have anywhere to leave our dog safely.
Overall, it was a great weekend, and we would come back!
Doris O
VerifiedMarch 20, 2022 • Stayed at: 26, Loop: B
Beautiful place! We went as a group. We have a club in our church ( Adventurer Club) and we visited the Clearwater lake recreation park because we needed a special place for the kiddos. We stayed there from March 11 to 13 this year. They had a lot of fun. This is a small and quiet place, not far from Orlando. You can do many activities ( hiking, swimming in the lake, kayaking, etc)
Staff are very friendly. We will plan another camping at this place.
Gregory J
VerifiedMarch 18, 2022 • Stayed at: 16, Loop: A
Overall, the facility was very good. I wish there was something in the description of this particular tent site could easily have a large amount of water coming through during a thunder storm.
Location Clearwater Lake Rec Area
Address:
24511 Cr 42
Paisley, FL, 32767
United States
From the intersection of Florida Highways 19 and 42, go east on Highway 42 toward Paisley. Drive approximately 6 miles and turn left at the entrance to Clearwater Lake Recreation Area.
Clearwater Lake Recreation Area is accessible via Florida Highway 42, and is located approximately 6 miles east of the intersection with Florida Highway 19.
Latitude & Longitude: 28.9794 / -81.555
Elevation: 16 feet
Policies & Rules
Arrival & departure
Check in time
2PM
Check out time
11AM
General
- Campground gate is locked during Daylight Savings (Mar - Oct) and (Nov - Mar). Campers who check-in after the gatehouse is closed must visit the Gatehouse the next morning to complete their check-in to their site. Failure to do so will lead to a 'no show' charge to your reservation and potential forfeiture of site.
- Campsites are limited to 2 tents, 2 vehicles (campers included), and 5 persons.
- Extra vehicles will be charged a per-vehicle, per-night fee
- Bears and raccoons frequent the area; all food must be kept in approved containers. Failure to comply with this regulation can result in immediate ejection from campground without refund.
- Alligators inhabit the area; use caution around water.
- Private vessel launches in the Juniper Wilderness Run are subject to a fee.
- Dogs/pets are allowed in campground only and must be leashed and supervised at all times. No dogs/pets allowed in day-use area, bathrooms, in lake or on the trail around the lake.
- Click here for more information about Ocala National Forest
- Don't Move Firewood: Help protect our forests! Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. Moving firewood is illegal in some states. Visit dontmovefirewood.org to learn more.
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Last updated: June 4, 2026
